Falconer Native Sets State Record In Deadlift At World Cup

Jay Young

sports@post-journal.com

Falconer native Dave Edborg has a long and happy history with the Rochester Institute of Technology–and the future looks just as promising as the past.

For more than three decades, he has worked for public safety on the campus on his way to a current posting as patrol major, and before that Edborg was a student at the Henrietta university.

It was during those early years that Edborg first fell into the world of competitive weight lifting and, after a hiatus, he’s back.

A 1978 graduate of Falconer Central School, Edborg’s athletic pursuits in those days were lived out on the baseball diamond and basketball court before finding his way into the Tigers’ weight room in the 1980s.

“I lifted competitively until I had two children,” said Edborg. “And got back into it about seven years ago.”

Returning to his former competitive ways has worked out well, as Edborg returned from the World Cup Invitational Powerlift Competition in Turku, Finland in August with a new personal and New York State record in the deadlift.

A completed lift of just over 480 pounds — 218 kilograms to be precise — earned Edborg his seventh New York State record and a fourth overall finish while competing in the 198-pound, 56-63 masters and law and fire divisions.

“This (competition) was a little different. This is every three years,” Edborg said of the World Cup. “I’ve never traveled overseas to lift. I travel overseas for business in Croatia and Dubai, but this was great. There had to have been literally 13, 14, or 15 countries there. Russians, the Fins, the Swedes, Germans, Swiss, there were even some folks from Brazil. It was a terrific environment and everyone is really helpful.”

On his way to qualifying for the tournament in Finland, Edborg’s competition had taken him onto the national stage in Portland, Maine in June, where he was able to put up 479 pounds in the deadlift, as well as the yearly World Championships held in Las Vegas.

While Edborg has lifted competitively around the country and now around the world, his home will always be the Student Life Center at RIT, where he has come to know and be known by generations of student-athletes. While he once held an official position as the strength coach for the Tigers men’s hockey team in the 1990s, Edborg’s role has shifted to that of informal adviser.

“Anybody who wants to know what is happening (with lifting), I help them out. RIT has supported me in my travels and have really been behind me. It’s an honor and a privilege to represent them.”

As for Edborg’s upcoming schedule, he is looking forward to returning to Portland and Las Vegas next year and continuing his journey for more records. Aiding the Falconer native’s success later in life has been the time that he took off from lifting to raise a family, which spared him some of the deterioration that can accumulate from decades of powerlifting.

“My body isn’t as broken down as it could be,” Edborg mentioned. “I feel pretty good as long as I can train smart and recognize the pain. It’s training smart.”

While his shoulder has prohibited him from competing in the bench press, Edborg is content to continue improving his performance in the deadlift.